Beauty And The Beast
by toshimi-senpai
Summary: Raidou was proposed by a mysterious woman right after the medal ceremony bestowed by the feudal lords. Little did he know that the dark, upper-class world blessed with hypocrisy, disloyalty and greed currently awaits him. Would this be another punishing battle in his life or some sort of reward prepared from the heaven for him?
1. Step 1: False Step

_"As long as the sky still dwell up above, you women would never own a place on this throne. Remain low behind the cover as a tool, ignored yet luxuriously spoiled. Don't tell me you hate living a life like that, my pretty doll?"_

* * *

"Be my legal guardian and become the next daimyō, and help me save this House."

An aloof, coldly desperate however elegant voice hit his eardrum, the echoes bouncing back and forth between the thin walls and the paperdoors, sending his senses discombobulated for a second.

A heavily embroidered pastel kimono clad on the slender form, covering the ivory, smooth skin beneath. Her long, straight black hair was groomed beautifully into a tight bun, adorned with an expensive and refined headpin across the dark tresses, leaving a few loose strands framing her face.

The aristocratic air around her was far more than visible, making him all more than taken off guard by the sudden, unexpected event.

Having robbed of words to say, he scratched the back of his neck, uncertain, "I don't mean to be rude, but are you sure you got the right person?" By the next moment, he almost regret opening his mouth when she nonchalantly spoke one by one of his personal information.

"Raidou Namiashi of The Hidden Leaf, 35 years old, blood type; AB, pastime hobby; beers race and singing a ballad song whenever he's alone-"

"-W-Wait! How did you-" In a matter of second, he was thrown off balance; dark shade of red dusted on his tanned face.

"Currently living on-site at ANBU Headquarters because his mother-"

A big hand suddenly clamped over the alabaster skin of her face, silencing her. The honey-hued eyes which previously did not displayed much of emotion now had widened in horror when he pressed her against one wall, one finger pressed vertically on his lips, reassuring, while his eyes roamed wildly around the room, keenly searching for the thing that had disturbed his shinobi intuition.

And he concluded, _Someone's here._

* * *

10 minutes earlier.

"With this, the Allied Shinobi Forces Bestowal of Honors has come to an end."

Aoba exhaled in relief, reflexively moving his stiff neck to the side to relieve the tense there for looking up for so long. He throwed yet another look to the feudal lords from various lands and villages sitting in one, single line on the stage, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the other ninja dispersing from the place. Then something clicked inside his head, "Hey, you guys hear about the rumors going on about the next Fire Daimyō?"

"Rumors?" Raidou asked as he nonchalantly tucked his gold medal into his pocket, uninterested, "What about it? Does it matter?"

"Of course it does." Aoba chided, looking at Raidou, "You should stop make light of their significance to our village, Raidou."

A smug grin pulled on Raidou's lips, "Really? Then, besides giving away medals and titles, what else do they do?"

"Man, you sure are cocky," Genma snorted, then holding up the gold piece in his hand, "This gold might at least worth a decent house with a few acres yard for our retirement days though. If you really that reluctant to accept that medal, don't hesitate to give it to me anytime now."

Silence.

Scratching his temple, "Okay. That was a joke."

"I don't find it funny." Raidou countered, face remain stoic.

"If you look very closely, the joke is right there."

"You mean, you and your shitty jokes."

"Often take things too seriously. That's my Raidou."

"Don't 'my' me. It's disgusting."

Aoba sighed between the two as they continued the verbal fight when just then two masked ninja with an unidentified black outfit appeared out of nowhere in front of them, instantly putting an end to their bickering.

"Raidou Namiashi," one of them spoke under the mask, making the aforesaid name raised his eyebrow in perplexment. He didn't even had the chance to speak out when the other masked man already placed a firm hold on his shoulder.

"Let's go. The Lady is waiting for you."

"Lady?"

* * *

Raidou kept his hand on her mouth, catching the sight of moving shadows casted on the floor through the thin paperdoor, and it growed bigger in each step it took as it approached the door.

"You sure the Lady is in here?" A male, hoarse voice sounded from outside of the room, eliciting a sharp gasp from her, making him whirled back to her direction in confusion.  
The man just outside the room had a wicked smirk on his face as he placed his hand on the door.

"Did you waited for me to come here, my sweet doll?"

The door slid open.

"Sorry to keep you wai-"

The sight he was greeted upon caught him off guard.

His sweet, ever so obedient fiancee was wounding her delicate fingers into the hair and the neck of the scarred ninja, pulling him close as she kissed him sweetly by the lips, paying no heed to the man's raging fury even as he stormed off the room with face red in anguish.

Noticing her fiance was gone she quickly pulled back, but to no avail when Raidou had surprisingly snaked his arm around her waist, wanting more.

 _Craving_ for more.

She couldn't help but to let her eyes open to peek on his face, on his intention, only to see he was doing the same as her, cheeks flushing red when he grew more bold in his kiss while watching her all the time.

Even when the compound was suddenly surrounded by masked ninja, even when he was roughly pulled away from her by two ninja, her facial expression remained unmoved, glacial and distant.

As far as the distance of status and rank between the two.

"Arrest him."

Raidou's eyes grew wide in shock when the order fell from her lips yet he remained silent as the thought that all this was carefully planned by her was slowly make sense.

They both exchanged one last gaze before the daughter of Fire Daimyo tore her gaze away from him first. The obvious gesture had tugged the corner of his lips upward in a defeated, bitter smirk.

 _J_ _ust what did you get myself into, woman?_

She watched his broad back as he was brought away from the place, a very faint glint of regret adorning her impassive face.

 _He's indeed the beautiful one._

 _And I'm the beast._


	2. Step 2: Prison Outbreak

_"When you have wings but you can't fly, that is the greatest pain of all."_

* * *

"The ceremony will begin in an hour. Take all this makeups and bring it to M'lady. Hurry, we don't have much time." A court lady impatiently passed a box filled with cups of powdered cosmetics to another female attendants, "We'll begin grooming Her Ladyship in a few minutes."

The female attendant nodded in assent, thus made her way to the Lady's chamber. Standing behind the paperdoor, she spoke, "My Lady, we'll begin the grooming shortly."

No answer.

"My Lady?" She slowly peeked open the door, courtly allowing herself in when the figure sitting silently before the low table remained silent.

"My Lady? Are you there?"

Not long after, a long, shrill scream erupted from the room, drawing a few ninja guards into the chamber followed by the court lady who instantly made haste when the growing frequent scream echoed again from the room.

"M-my Lady..." The female attendant collapsed on the floor, pointing her shaking finger to the immobilized figure. One ninja carefully placed his hand on the figure's shoulder, slowly and steadily, before he whirled it roughly from the seat.

A stuffed pillow.

A small note attached on the pillow's 'forehead'.

 _Do look for me, and you'll be fired._

"My Lady...!"

* * *

A shiver ran through her skin, making her hair stood on end. A small amused smile spread on her lips as she rubbed the goosebumps on the back of her neck.

"What's wrong, My Lady?" The ninja with the red crimson mask inquired from her side, noticing the gleaming amusement in his master's eyes.

"Even from here," She glanced to her loyal bodyguard, "I can hear the court lady screaming for me from the chamber. Didn't you hear that, Yuu?"

Instead of answering her, he spoke courtly behind the mask, "Should we go back, M'lady?" The woman in a plain, satin kimono wrapped in a black cape simply shook her head in refusal before she picked up her long dress and ran to the small shed just few meters from them.

"You said he was kept here, right?"

Though hesitant, Yuu nodded in response and helped her remove the wooden block blocking the door. Wasting no time, she quickly bolted inside, and was greeted by the sight of rotten, old cells lined by the walls, making her froze on the spot. Smells of musky, reeking metallic odor filled the space.

 _This kind of place...it's already torturing just by looking at it._

Mustering her courage, she paced forward, looking for the man she had purposely arrested few days ago in each cell but he was nowhere to be found, much to her dismay. Just then, she caught the sound of creaking door somewhere from the cells.

Raidou was secretly entering his cell from a secret door on the wooden wall, carefully closing it back thus dragging the old mattress to camouflage it. Leaning himself comfortably on the wall, with both hands crossed behind his head, a contented burp emitted from his seemingly pleased face.

"Man, the curry in this place sure is good."

"What curry?"

His eyes instantly flung open, a silent gasp fled his mouth when he saw a woman in white stood right before his cell.

She stood there, watching his lips tugged upward in a sarcastic smile, "On second thought," He spoke, clashing his gaze with hers, "I'd rather have a female ghost visiting me than a female with a ghostly nature."

"I'm taking you out of here." Ignoring his provokes, she took out a bunch of keys from her pocket. When she was about to insert a key into the lock, he interrupted her, leaning back to the wall in carefree manner, "That lock won't open. Even if it does, I won't get out of here and let myself in another trouble. So just-"

"My Lady, the guards are coming this way. You've to hurry." Yuu warned them from the door before he slammed it closed when a few ninja in black confronted him just a second after. The sight had caught Raidou's interest, "It sure tough being in his shoes. What else have you done this time?"

Twisting the key roughly in the lock, she flashed her frustrated look to his carefree ones, working for another key to unlock the cell, "Listen here, ninja. No matter how reputable ninja you are right now, I give you my word you'll lose all your merit you've worked for your entire life if we both got caught again."

And this one definitely caught his attention.

"Your rank will be dissolved, your medal will be annulled, your name will disappeared from ninja registry system," she hissed impatiently when she couldn't find the key while a loud, heart-stopping bump sounded again and again from the door.

And she lost it.

"Can't you see I'm trying to save you?!"

The next moment when the ninja in black invaded the cell, the young lady of the House of Fire Daimyo who was supposed to get marry on that day with her arranged fiance wasn't on sight.

Together with the scarred, Konoha ninja who was the sole reason why the marriage was held two months earlier than the exact date.

To ensure the position of the next Fire Daimyō.


	3. Step 3: General And King's Concubine

"They shouldn't be far away from here." One of the ninja in black outfit spoke as he scanned the forest behind them, then to the faraway lake stretched at the front. Giving a brief gesture to his team as for 'Keep looking', the group then disappeared from the area.

From somewhere beneath the water in the lake, Raidou peered upward to the ground from his hiding, mouth swelled with suppressed oxygen, small bubbles of exhaled breath popped up at the surface, and when he see the area was clear, he turned to the woman behind him whom was holding her breath just as equal, except for her eyes were squinted shut.

Grabbing her wrist, he swam to the surface, and relief surged through him for the rush of oxygen back into his almost emptied lung. He never good in holding breath for long, just as much as his tough luck in genjutsu. He was decent enough in ninjutsu, but his agile, wide hands had covered of what he lacked of and had made him one of the best close range fighter and not to mention they were also perfect for performing seals, twisting enemies' fingers off socket for intel, and destructively cracking skulls for final blow.

"They're gone." He spoke quietly as he floated above the water and when he received no sounds or responses, and surprisingly saw her form squirming beneath the water, he doved back again.

Under the water, her white wedding dress was entangled between the roots branching near the shore, keeping her swimming about the same place. It was not long before he came back for her, looking out for the trouble and saw the tangling fabric between the dark roots. Her eyes went wide when she saw him tearing the lower part of her dress from the branching root, her protest was gone in a series of bubbles floating upward where he paid no heed to it and brought them back to the surface.

"They're gone?" She surveyed the place, dragging the heavy fabric at her feet off the water, drops of water trickled down from her sleeves and the wet hair plastered against her cheeks and forehead.

"It seems so." Raidou answered briefly, turning his wide back to her so as to scrutinize the surrounding. The place apparently was clear from unwanted presence and spying shadows, he noted quietly.

For some reason, the tanned light brown skin of his face somehow seemed less wet on the right side. The water that dripped from his red-brownish hair naturally soaked his forehead then make its way to the bridge of his nose but only halfway, before they followed the trail of the damaged, burnt tissues all the way to his left cheek and settled on his square jaw before they dropped to the ground.

No sooner that the sounds of sloshing and water running down the ground caught his ears.

"Not that I'm complaining that you've saved me but," The still unnamed woman in that delicately winter dress murmured as she contemplated on the tore fabric, "I'm starting to like wearing this wedding dress though. It's kind of shame it won't be used in the real ceremony in another few hours, but oh well." She shrugged then, straightening her dress and looked up to his back while brushing the black strand behind her ear, smiling wide like a kid just get a permission to gone out playing.

His pupils shot upward. The now familiar anxious feeling came crawling under his skin again.

 _What? Wedding?  
_

 _In another few hour?_

"Now, which direction should we take?" She nonchalantly paced to his side while all the while trying to pull out the gold hairpin across her wet hair before the wet midnight tresses tumbled down her back and shoulders.

She peeked on his hazy face then; they were too ironic than when they met in the abandoned cell, "Hey?" A small amused going dancing briefly in her eyes at the sight of his calculating face, "Still doing the math, are yo-"

"Explain yourself, kid." He began, trying to fit together the event when he was arrested few days ago and when he had dragged her from the ninja who were searching for her and done pretty crazy stuff of diving into the lake instead of surrendering himself to the ninja. If looking at the bigger picture, they must have misunderstood somewhere, did they?

Although he, himself, not quite sure what he understand either.

He took a step forward, looking down at her, hands on his waist.

"I don't know how you know about me, or what other prank you have pulled before, but just so you know I'd rather being chased all day long or being imprisoned for weeks without food but saying my life as a ninja is over just because of a certain crazy girl is another thing entirely. Do you even know what you were doing?" He had missed the small giggle curling at the corner of her lips as he began his lecture.

The flash of images of him being pulled down for a kiss while an undoubtedly high-regarded man just entered the room, or the image of her panic face in the abandoned cell came bothering him all over again.

Just who the hell is she anyway?

And who does she think she is to drag someone into her affair whatever she wanted?

She chewed her lower lips, remembering the incident, "But I can't think of other way to escape this place other than making him see me with you like that."

He instantly scowled, "Right, the kiss. Are you always do this to a man you just met? Isn't a girl should act more decently? Have you no shame at all?" Her head casted down at the scold, but the small pebble at her feet drew her attention instead and she kicked them.

"Now they have misunderstood me, what should should I do?" He continued, pondering, then staring into her innocent face as she kicked another pebble. And he had made up his mind.

"You're the one who stir this up, so you take the responsibility."

She instantly looked up, bewildered, "What?"

"Go explain yourself to them." He decided, and without further notice he dragged her by the wrist to the direction of the House.

"I don't want to go back there." She protested, but continued to dragged her feet beside him however.

He gave her an 'of course' look, "Then why did you make such a prank?"

At this point, he thought it would be much easier to just fled from the scene rather than involving himself in another affair he don't belong to but when he think about it, he'd never before being framed and later arrested with an unknown reason and to know that the culprit behind it all was only a girl, he knew he can't just slide this off so easily.

Danger excites him.

But somehow he have this feeling that she lives surround by it everyday. And the thought alone excites him even more.

"I was trying to leave, you know," she tugged the hand holding her to drew his attention, "My stepmother had forbid me from going anywhere after you were arrested so I can't go anywhere."

Two dots had connected.

"Figures," he spoke matter-of-factly, "You were locked up because you're a troublemaker. I should've figure it out sooner." And they continued walking, despite her murmuring retorts.

"I have a similar stepmother," Instead of just taking her back quietly to the House, he strangely had opened his own story to fill the leisure. Just how much hurt would cost him anyway to tell it to this girl? "Whenever she knew I'm off duty, she always come to my house and kept me at home to make sure I get enough rest for the next mission. It was suffocating I admit, but still, pulling a prank like that and run away is simply wrong."

His sense of responsibility is taking over him again, irritating her at some point.

"But it was so frustrating." She murmured in dissatisfaction, stomping her already soaking heel into one of the puddle, splatting his face with the mud water, making him flinched.

 _Patient, Raidou... Be patient._

Brushing off the mud, he decided to change the topic, "So what did you run away from this time?"

"My wedding ceremony."

His pace came to a complete halt.

He thought he just heard that few minutes ago.

"…Your wedding?"

"Yeah." She replied casually, as though she just answered how many nostril a person own, and continued, still oblivious of his shocked face, "My father made me married this man from the neighbouring clan to be the next daimyō but I discovered he is up to no good so I figured I have to do something to stop the wedding!"

At her reply, the cogwheels that had not meshed with each other clicked inside his head, starting to move, but he had this strange urge to laugh on her counter and the laughter already bubbling at the edge of his lips.

"You're saying...the next daimyō?"

She nodded, still looking troubled at the subject.

"Then...who are you?"

She looked up at his tall feature, knowing it's the moment of the truth so she returned to her ice-y princess mode, making her appear like one of the so-called aristocratic, "I'm the Fire Daimyo's only daughter."

He was rendered speechless. The disjointed dots finally linked to one another, forming a clearer picture on what mess he had actually gotten himself into.

"So that's why you summoned me and made me look like I'm having an affair with you?"

And she nodded almost enthusiastically. "I escaped the wedding thanks to you." To make things balance between them, she added, "But actually I had helped you out too."

He couldn't stop from rolling his eyes, _Helped me my ass._

She continued, "I had warned the ninja watching over you to not do you any harm or they will face my wrath. That's why you're still alive until now." She smiled proudly, dimples popping out.

He honestly not sure which to blame; either her naivity or his stupidity to even listen to this girl. Even if they were told to just pinch his skin, of course they won't do so because he was one of their respectful senior when they were in ANBU! And who would dare to lay a finger to the formidable Hunter who was once second-in-command under Daizo's wing?

"But if you don't want to take me with you, it's fine though." She broke the silence between them, and something like a wicked smile carved on her beautifully carved lips, "I will go back to my Father and tell me how you had snatched me away from the wedding and-"

He snorted in mix of disbelief and utter shock, "Hey, I'm the victim in this case-"

"And to spice thing up," she looked down to her torn dress, "you even ripped off my wedding dress in the process, now that I think about it, it would make a pretty trustable story."

His animal instinct took over him, and she automatically took a step backward as he paced forward, dark aura hanging over his magnificent frame, and he murmured quietly "Are you blackmailing me?"

He was caught complete off guard, never before his opponent -a girl- taunted him so much to the extent that made him powerless even for a small counterback. She is the daughter of the daimyō, and there was all to it. A ninja obeyed to his mission; his master, and the most superior to his master doesn't make him his enemy.

"There they are!" The cry of a court lady far few meters ahead them had them startled, and triggered by the shout, a few black shadows dashed to their direction in high speed, waking up the train of their thoughts to reality.

Raidou just took three steps ahead before he turned around and took her by surprise when he roughly pulled her by her wrist, "What are you waiting for?! Let's go!"

She didn't remember the last time she felt the calming rush of wind, the freedom, and the surge of adrenaline went through her as they ran from the chasing ninja towards the forest. Amidst the gliding wind and the pursuing ninja, she shouted, just enough for him to hear.

"I'm Tsuru!"

He gave him a sideway look, almost scowling, before later a smirk crossed on his face, "You'd better match up to me or I'll leave you behind."

"Don't worry!" She pulled up her lower dress, revealing a black legging hugging her slender legs, her secret wear everytime she planned to fled, "I do this often! I'll manage it!"

He glanced behind him, taking in the sight of the chasing ninja and then to the sight of this woman clad in expensive wedding dress then to himself. The scene made him recalled one of the story from the foreign land where the general of the country ran away with the King's concubine. He didn't remember the detail of the story but what he knew is that the story does not ends well for the forbidden couple.

A ripple of water from his soaked hair fell on his face then following the earlier trail of the hideous scar across his left cheek and come resting on his square jaw. And the presence of the marring skin had made him naturally self-conscious again.

He hates that girl for not saying anything about it.

He hates her for pretending to not see it.

He hates himself for forgetting the 'curse'.

He hates himself for having them in the first place.

Damn her.

Damn him.

Damn it all.

End of step 3


End file.
